A 37-year-old man shot by police in New Rochelle, New York, on July 3 has died, and New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office said Tuesday it will begin a formal investigation into the shooting.
Jarrell Garris had been on life support and died Monday evening. His family issued a statement expressing “great sorrow” and pushing authorities for answers.
“We are committed to getting Justice for Jarrell and submit that if the City of New Rochelle is sincere about its commitment to transparency and it’s not just a veneer, all videos of Jarrell’s execution should be released immediately,” said the statement provided by attorney William Wagstaff.
“We ask for prayer and peace as we prepare to memorialize him.”
After days of the New York State Police and Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah’s office investigating the incident, the case has been turned over to James’ office. State law requires the AG’s Office of Special Investigation to take over whenever a police or peace officer may have caused a person’s death.
Garris, a New Rochelle native, was back in the area to pick up his son and take him back for the summer to Greensboro, North Carolina, where he moved several month ago, when police accused him of stealing food from a grocery store and shot him after a scuffle on July 3. Police said he had gone for one of the officer’s guns.
Garris’ family said he had been eating a banana and grapes inside the New Rochelle Farms market. U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman said in a statement that he “should be alive today and back home in North Carolina with his son.
“Instead, even though the police knew he experienced schizophrenia, he was shot and killed after police accused him of stealing food from a nearby grocery store. Police brutality has been sickening our country and taking the lives of our loved ones for decades.”
What led to the shooting?
Bodycam footage released by the New Rochelle Police Department shows police officers Kari Bird and Gabrielle Chavarry, along with Det. Steven Conn, confronting Garris. In the video, the officers ask him about stolen food.
Garris doesn’t appear to respond. Bird and Chavarry follow him across the street while a third officer, Conn, approaches.
The video then shows Garris in a scuffle with the officers as they attempt to place him under arrest. In the struggle, Garris reaches in the direction of one of the officer’s holstered firearms, the video shows. He then topples over an officer. “He’s got a gun, he’s got a gun,” one officer can be heard shouting in the video.
In a press release the night of the shooting, the police department said Garris reached at the officer’s gun “in an attempt to remove it from the holster.”
The video provided by the police department ends before Conn shoots his weapon. A police spokesperson said the video ends where it does out of respect for Garris’ family.
The family has called for the release of the full bodycam footage, as well as for any witnesses who saw the shooting to come forward.
“You want to be transparent, release the whole video to show the pictures of the truth,” the Rev. Kevin McCall, who has acted as a family spokesperson, told reporters on Friday. “The video does not lie. This young man should be here today. Him eating fruit, grapes and a banana, should not be his death sentence.”
New York State Police said Conn shot Garris while trying to arrest him, firing one round from his department-issued firearm. Bodycam video shows a handcuff on Garris’ right hand during the struggle in the middle of Lincoln Avenue, a busy two-way street that runs through New Rochelle.
The officers fired no additional rounds, State Police said, and performed lifesaving techniques. He was transported to the hospital and was in a coma.
All three officers have been placed on administrative leave pending results of investigations, the city Police Department confirmed.
Mental health struggles, life in North Carolina detailed by family
Garris’ father, Raymond Fowler, 58, a longtime New Rochelle resident now living in North Carolina, said Garris struggled with mental health issues, including schizophrenia, and had been contacted by New Rochelle police when he was a city resident for wellness checks.
Garris grew up just minutes walking from the scene of the shooting. He had extended family still living in New Rochelle. In the days and hours leading up to the shooting, several residents said they had seen Garris in the neighborhood.
Garris, who graduated from New Rochelle High School in 2004, went by ”Jarrel” on his Facebook page. Some family members used the spelling ”Jarrell,” whereas law enforcement have used ”Jerrel.”
On Friday, dozens of friends and family gathered to show support for Garris at a family press conference outside of St. Catherine A.M.E. Zion Church, just feet from where police shot Garris.
The fatal encounter happened in an area referred to as the Lincoln Avenue corridor, a historic African American community. The police department and City Hall are located just around the corner.
Garris’ sister said her brother had a job and was doing well in North Carolina. In a text message, his girlfriend said he was working as a caregiver in a private resident home.
After the press conference, many people went to protest outside New Rochelle Farms. A few people entered the grocery store and knocked over produce, though a police spokesperson said no arrests were made.
New Rochelle Farms appears to have been closed since then. On Monday, the store’s phone went unanswered.
On Monday evening, demonstrators again closed off the intersection outside of New Rochelle Farms, protesting the police shooting of Garris and the grocery store calling police.
Eduardo Cuevas covers race and justice for the USA TODAY Network of New York. He can be reached at EMCuevas1@gannett.com and followed on Twitter @eduardomcuevas.
